Omicron Has 80% Lower Risk of Hospitalization, New Study Shows  — Once admitted, risk of severe disease is the same: NICD data  — Compared to delta, odds of severe omicron disease is 70% lower  —  South Africans contracting Covid-19 in the current fourth wave of infections …

America is now in fascism's legal phase  —  The history of racism in the US is fertile ground for fascism.  Attacks on the courts, education, the right to vote and women's rights are further steps on the path to toppling democracy  —  et us be reminded that before there is a final solution …

People Got Sick at a Conspiracy Conference.  They're Sure It's Anthrax.  —  The fact that the conference was likely a COVID outbreak and superspreader event has been almost entirely ignored.  —  DG  —  A group of unvaccinated people who attended a huge conspiracy conference in Dallas earlier …

Why Christmas Gifts Are Arriving on Time This Year  —  Fears that a disrupted supply chain could wreak havoc on the logistics industry over the holiday turned out to be wrong as many Americans ordered early and shopped in stores.  —  The warnings started to stream in early this fall: Shop early or you may not get your gifts on time.

Biden Won Big With a Bad Hand  —  Relative to its strength in Congress, the Biden administration has proved outstandingly successful.  —  About the author: David Frum is a staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of Trumpocalypse: Restoring American Democracy (2020).

Judge denies Michael Flynn's request for restraining order against Jan. 6 committee  —  A federal judge in Florida on Thursday denied Michael Flynn's request for a temporary restraining order to block subpoenas from the Jan. 6 committee compelling him to testify and to produce scores of documents.

Covid Live Updates: Omicron Cases Appear Less Severe, 2 U.K. Studies Say  —  Experts warned that hospitals could still be flooded, because the variant is so transmissible.  The F.D.A. authorized Pfizer's Covid pills for high-risk patients 12 and older, a treatment that could be available within days.

‘Have I Hit Bottom?’:  Michael Avenatti and the Fall of a Trump-Era Antihero  —  VENICE, Calif. — Inside a two-bedroom apartment, 11 blocks from the ocean, there is a man in free fall, though he has nowhere to go.  He wears a monitor on his right ankle, government-issued, blinking green beneath his tapered track pants.

Biden's COVID culpability  —  In its never-ending race to stay ahead of the coronavirus, the Biden administration keeps falling behind.  —  Why it matters: The U.S. is facing an overwhelming surge of cases driven by the Omicron variant less than six months after President Biden celebrated …

Statement by President Joe Biden Extending the Pause on Student Loan Repayment an Additional 90 Days  —  When I came into office, we were facing a number of unprecedented crises.  Our economy was creating only 50,000 new jobs per month, less than 1 percent of Americans were fully vaccinated …

Trump Just Crossed a Red Line for His Evangelical and Jewish Fans  —  Trump's obscenities and antisemitic tropes don't bother his Jewish fans.  But a recent quote has stunned his pro-Israel base, evangelicals and Jews, to the core - and could complicate his chances for a second term  —  Zen Read

The F.B.I. Deployed Surveillance Teams Inside Portland Protests  —  Federal agents infiltrated Portland's unruly racial justice protests, dressing to blend in and capturing clandestine video.  The tactics raised internal concern.  —  PORTLAND, Ore. — In the hours after President Biden's inauguration …

Inside the nonstop pressure campaign by Trump allies to get election officials to revisit the 2020 vote  —  More than a year after Donald Trump lost the presidency, election officials across the country are facing a growing barrage of claims that the vote was not secure and demands to investigate …

N.R.A. Chief Wayne LaPierre's Misleading Testimony About Free Yacht Trips in the Bahamas  —  Documents and accounts of former staffers, which raise questions about LaPierre's statements, could strengthen the New York attorney general's lawsuit to dissolve the gun-rights group.

Proud Boy pleads guilty to felony charge in Capitol riot  —  A New York man who was a member of the Proud Boys pleaded guilty Wednesday to obstructing Congress and conspiring to obstruct law enforcement during the pro-Trump riot on Jan. 6, a felony.  —  The plea is significant because Matthew Greene …

D.C. to require coronavirus vaccination to enter restaurants, gyms and other businesses  —  People 12 and older will be required to show proof of coronavirus vaccination to enter many businesses in D.C., including restaurants, starting in mid-January under rules that Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) announced on Wednesday.

How bad will 2022 be for Democrats?  A new party analysis sounds the alarm.  —  Get ready to hear this phrase in discussions among Democrats about the 2022 midterms: “The Biden-Youngkin voter.”  —  This category — which refers to voters who picked President Biden in 2020 …

Democrats Score a Big Win in California Redistricting Map  —  On Monday, California's citizens' redistricting commission voted 14-0 to approve a map that's a dream for Democrats.  Technically, the commission (five Democrats, five Republicans and four others) was prohibited from taking partisan or incumbent data into consideration.

Secret Service: Nearly $100B stolen in pandemic relief funds  —  Nearly $100 billion at minimum has been stolen from COVID-19 relief programs set up to help businesses and people who lost their jobs due to the pandemic, the U.S. Secret Service said Tuesday.  —  The estimate is based …

No Critical Race Theory in Schools?  Here's the Abundant Evidence Saying Otherwise  —  Above, a mother protests critical race theory in Albuquerque last month.  Such objections are often met with denials that CRT is being taught, despite many indications to the contrary.